By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

BURRILLVILLE — Repair work on the centuries-old Mill Pond dam on East Avenue got off to a late start because of the early summer rain, but is on track and expected to be completed by the fall, according to town officials.

The dam is one of two dams in town classified by the Department of Environmental Management as “high hazard,” meaning it is in imminent danger of failing in a heavy storm.
Town Council President Nancy F. Binns said the first phase of the project got under way last week with work crews and equipment from J.H. Lynch & Sons arriving on site.
After two years of study and design, the town decided this year to repair the dam in three stages. Design plans for the project were submitted to the state and the Town Council awarded a $640,000 contract to construction firm J.H. Lynch to head the project.
The first phase of the project will replace the three or four sluice gates on the side of the dam adjacent to the Assembly Theatre with two new operating sluice gates. A sluice gate is traditionally a wooden or metal plate which slides in grooves in the sides of the channel. Sluice gates are commonly used to control water levels and flow rates in rivers and canals.
The project’s second phase will replace missing granite blocks and to buttress the back of the dam with riprap and concrete. The third phase will see the aging spillway replaced with a concrete spillway and leveling of the banks on either side of the dam and the addition of riprap along the banks to stop erosion. Trees will be cleared from the area and a fence erected.
Both East Avenue and Steere Road are expected to remain open during the project, which is likely to continue into September. The play ground at the dam, however, closed this week and will remain closed for the rest of the summer.
A dam is classified by the DEM as “high hazard” when failure or misoperation will result in a probable loss of life. A dam is classified as “significant hazard” when failure or misoperation will most likely not result in loss of life, but could cause major economic loss or disrupt and impact the public’s health, safety, and welfare.
Burrillville’s second high hazard dam is located on Echo Lake.